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I'm 22 and a super senior in college (5 year plan WOOT WOOT) and since my 22nd birthday a couple weeks ago I been reminiscing a lot over my college years and how much I have matured between 18 and now. I'm not saying I'm done maturing I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn but it's crazy how much you change between 18-25.
18: Still a kid but you couldn't tell me that. I thought I was sooooo grown at 18. Fast forward 4 years I look back at my 18 year old self and I'm like "PLEEEAAASSE boy you were such a child." Even though I lived in the dorms freshman year I was still highly dependent on my parents for a lot. I also didn't really take my college education all that seriously freshman year.
19: I grew up a little bit but was still immature in a couple areas. I had to move back home my sophomore year unfortunately. However, 19 is when I started to teach myself how to really cook and know my way around the kitchen. My friends love my chicken enchiladas and honey bbq chicken wings lol. 19 is also when I started to really learn about credit and how important your reputation is and that CREDIT CARDS WERE THE DEVIL! I had to learn that lesson the hard way....
20: 20 was a rough year. I don't know where my mind was I was going through some youthful phase and a voice in my head said "Transfer schools" and I transferred schools and transferred back and lost a couple credits, and gained a couple "I told you so's" and yeah I really hated 20 it was not a good year.
21: THIS IS WHEN I GOT MY ISH TOGETHER! I started my junior year back at my home university and I was serious down right all about my education and future. I finally started taking college seriously and realized that the years go by fast so I had better shape up fast. I also started taking my finances more seriously and putting together a strict budget and sticking to it. Buying clothes every weekend had to stop. My new motto was "If I don't need it I'm not buying it."
22: I feel like I have grown up a lot. I finally have my own apartment and even though money is tight (college life) I'm surviving and paying the bills. I have a decent job (by college student standards....it's better than where some of my friends are employed at). I also have an awesome internship that I am enjoying. I've also started engaging in more networking and really getting involved in my major. I even have a couple of potential jobs lined up following graduation and I finally made a LinkedIn account over the summer lol
I changed a lot during college. I rarely dated during high school (was too busy being a nerd) and was extremely naïve when I entered college. During those four college years I matured in many ways. I had always been a responsible person, but attending classes full-time and working 20-30 hours per week as well really taught me about responsibility. Plus, I dated quite a bit starting my sophomore year so had a lot of new experiences in that area. I changed from a shy wallflower to a more confident young woman. I matured much more, though, once I was out of college, working full-time in the real world and rented my first apartment. I couldn't wait to be fully on my own.
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I was 17 when I started college, and I felt as if I had finally come into my own academically. They had eliminated ability grouping at my high school and the classes were so watered-down that I felt I wasn't really "learning" anything. In my Freshman year of college I was finally able to listen to instructors who didn't talk down to me, and I was challenged to do more than just memorize and regurgitate facts. I felt I was in charge of my own situation; I could sign up for classes at a level that I thought I could handle. Yes, I was "that one"--the one who actually wanted to be there for the education. I took me three or so years to grow out of that tunnel vision view that life had to revolve around my class schedule.
I'd moved onto campus and my roommate (randomly selected by the Housing department) never let his classes get in the way of having a good time. It would be hard to find two people with more opposite views of college, and yet we got along great. I think we benefitted from each other's outlook. He managed to stumble out of his academic probation with a C+ average thanks to some of my influence/nagging, and I managed to come out of the closet a few months before graduation in no small part thanks to his assertions that others would not care half as much as I thought they would. This was a time when straight guys would appear totally justified in freaking out if he discovered his roommate was gay, so I was even luckier to have him and his "who gives a damn?" attitude around.
I was 17 when I started college, and I felt as if I had finally come into my own academically. They had eliminated ability grouping at my high school and the classes were so watered-down that I felt I wasn't really "learning" anything. In my Freshman year of college I was finally able to listen to instructors who didn't talk down to me, and I was challenged to do more than just memorize and regurgitate facts. I felt I was in charge of my own situation; I could sign up for classes at a level that I thought I could handle. Yes, I was "that one"--the one who actually wanted to be there for the education. I took me three or so years to grow out of that tunnel vision view that life had to revolve around my class schedule.
I'd moved onto campus and my roommate (randomly selected by the Housing department) never let his classes get in the way of having a good time. It would be hard to find two people with more opposite views of college, and yet we got along great. I think we benefitted from each other's outlook. He managed to stumble out of his academic probation with a C+ average thanks to some of my influence/nagging, and I managed to come out of the closet a few months before graduation in no small part thanks to his assertions that others would not care half as much as I thought they would. This was a time when straight guys would appear totally justified in freaking out if he discovered his roommate was gay, so I was even luckier to have him and his "who gives a damn?" attitude around.
That's cool when roommates can actually benefit from one another. My roommate freshman year was random as well and we didn't click at all. He was a sheltered mama's boy and he ended up moving back to his small Arizona town spring semester and I had my own room....WHICH WAS NICE
The first thing that pops into my mind is the fact that I found that some girls hated their mothers. I could not believe the stories they would tell in the dorm. I was extremely naïve and sheltered when I went off to college (200 miles away from home).
All of that is saved in letters I sent to my parents.
I didn't go away to college, so no dorms and all that goes with it. I went to school, lived at home, worked part time, life went on. I initially pledged a frat but all they did was drink and while that's OK sometimes, they couldn't seem to have fun without being loaded. So I never joined. My dad died when I was 20, that was the most life changing experience about my college years. I was a pretty steady guy, one girl friend through college that I ended up marrying. I wasn't ever a real partier type.
I can't believe how much college costs these days. I didn't have to take student loans even through grad school. It's a different animal these days.
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